Pilot
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2004
- Messages
- 1,208
- Location
- Oregon
- Tractor
- JD 770, Yanmar 180D, JD 420 (not running), had a Kubota B6200
Had a Porter Cable generator for maybe 15 years, worked fine until Oct. 2014 when I noticed the lights were a little dim while on the generator during a power outage. Took it to a recommended shop who sat on it for quite awhile (told about it here at the time) & the guy finally confessed that he called Porter Cable and they didn't make parts for it any more and that the electronics were a unique design that he couldn't replace. Talked to a guy at a saw shop who works on mowers, etc. who called Briggs who said the 3,600 rpm was under load, not the unloaded speed. So we boosted the rpm & under load at 3,600 we got good voltage. OK, problem solved.
BUT, while that generator was unavailable, on Veteran's day we had a pretty good blow & lost power 8 times. So I bought a new Troy-Bilt, at 7000W it is a little larger & fancier which was nice. Used it off & on for 18 hours according to the fancy display. Then when we lost power a few days ago I hit the start switch and got major silence. Nada. All I heard was the 25 degree wind blowing. Got it running with the rope.
Later I jumped across the power wire and the small wire on the solenoid & she cranked. So it's probably the switch? Is there a fuse? Because this unit is fancy (7000XP if you are interested) everything is enclosed and hard to get to.
Here's where it gets disgusting. There's no wiring diagram in the owner's manual, no parts listing and nothing online. So I call. And wait. Wait some more, over 1/2 hour. Finally was able to talk to some gal who only knew how to read their trouble shooting chart and didn't know anything else. Said it was probably the carb. Huh? Not quite. Said I should use gas stabilizer. No, I always shut it off by shutting off the fuel & I used fresh gas. Hey lady, the starter doesn't crank it (for the third time) I probably need a switch. "I can't send you a switch, you'll have to take it to a shop".
So I posted a negative review on their website and guess what? An hour later it doesn't show!
Good thing I still have the Porter Cable. Tomorrow when the ice is off the roads I'll take the TB to a shop & pay for labor to replace a $5 switch. And I'll put TB on my lemon list and vow to never buy their stuff again.
BUT, while that generator was unavailable, on Veteran's day we had a pretty good blow & lost power 8 times. So I bought a new Troy-Bilt, at 7000W it is a little larger & fancier which was nice. Used it off & on for 18 hours according to the fancy display. Then when we lost power a few days ago I hit the start switch and got major silence. Nada. All I heard was the 25 degree wind blowing. Got it running with the rope.
Later I jumped across the power wire and the small wire on the solenoid & she cranked. So it's probably the switch? Is there a fuse? Because this unit is fancy (7000XP if you are interested) everything is enclosed and hard to get to.
Here's where it gets disgusting. There's no wiring diagram in the owner's manual, no parts listing and nothing online. So I call. And wait. Wait some more, over 1/2 hour. Finally was able to talk to some gal who only knew how to read their trouble shooting chart and didn't know anything else. Said it was probably the carb. Huh? Not quite. Said I should use gas stabilizer. No, I always shut it off by shutting off the fuel & I used fresh gas. Hey lady, the starter doesn't crank it (for the third time) I probably need a switch. "I can't send you a switch, you'll have to take it to a shop".
So I posted a negative review on their website and guess what? An hour later it doesn't show!
Good thing I still have the Porter Cable. Tomorrow when the ice is off the roads I'll take the TB to a shop & pay for labor to replace a $5 switch. And I'll put TB on my lemon list and vow to never buy their stuff again.